I've bored you all (both of you? all three?) with my current over-employment, but in the interest of seeing who's out there, I want to ask a question -- what was your worst job interview?
As near as I can recall, I've had 8 unsuccessful job interviews:
- While I was still in college, I interviewed for a job doing newspaper graphics for the local daily paper. It sounded perfect to me -- the hours were something like 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and it was doing basically what I was already doing for the college paper, but for money. Anyway, the guy I interviewed with seemed interested but in the end, I guess just didn't think I was ready. (17 years later, I think he's still in the same job, I have no regrets.
- Shortly after I left college, a friend of mine who had started a local entertainment tabloid wanted me to come interview for a design job. I'd worked with this guy enough that I knew that he knew I was qualified, but frankly I didn't take the interview very seriously. It occurred to me a day or two later when I hadn't heard from him that he took it more seriously than I did. I already had a job, so maybe I was less motivated, but it was working for a real schmuck. The tabloid is still in business (with a different name) 16 or so years later and is (and was) a good publication. The schmuck is also still in business, but has changed his corporate identity for different reasons and is still a schmuck.
- I lived in Russia briefly and while I was there I interviewed to be a software trainer for westerners living in Moscow. I do okay in one-on-one situations but I'm a horrible public speaker and much prefer Macs over the PCs I would have been using. Also, I still remember all five words in Russian that I knew at the time. That job was never going to happen.
- When I lived in Memphis, I applied to be the Art Director for Memphis Magazine. The editor wanted me, the publisher wanted someone else. Publisher always wins.
- Also in Memphis, I had an interview for some position (don't really remember details) scheduled for 4 p.m. After initially going to the wrong address I eventually showing up at 5 p.m., on a Friday, ... I may as well not have gone at all.
- Memphis pt. 3: Showed up for an interview at a printing service bureau (which, for those of you who've never worked in publishing, deals with things such as corrections to film and digital files including color correction) wearing two otherwise identical, but different colored shoes.
- DC: While working for one part of the legislative branch, I applied for a position nearly identical to what I was doing that was being created on the other side of the Capitol. Maybe I'll go into detail some other time, but I was the target of a legitimate (low-level) gov't conspiracy that kept me in my job and moved someone less qualified over to that one. I was pissed but it worked out in the long run. Maybe it was the short run. I moved into a better position a few months later.
- DC: After 8 years on the Hill, I decided to look elsewhere. I applied for a job working for an association that had a very close relationship with a congressman whose chief of staff was a very good friend of mine. I decided a good strategy would be to save that card for the second interview. That was poor planning.
If I had to pick a 'worst' I'd have to say it was the thing with the shoes. Actually they were boots, but that doesn't really help.
Surely you can beat that.
2 comments:
Ok, I'll give it a shot.
This was about five years ago and I was interviewing with an consulting firm in DC. The interviewer was this 50-something woman who wasn't wearing what I would describe as a short skirt, just shorter than you would expect. Her office was set up with the desk against the wall, so she was turned around in her chair with the desk behind her when we talked. This is relevant because she would occasionally re-cross her legs in the other direction and flash just a little bit of panties. She was neither unattractive or stunning, and I wouldn't say it was an arousing display by any means, but there's just something about panties. Maybe it's just a Catholic school/schoolgirl thing with me or the fact that I had no sisters or really even friends with sisters, but the panty thing has always been a source of fascination for me. It was by no means a Sharon Stone type thing and I don't think she saw that I was looking but I didn't get the job. I could probably cite some interviews where it turned out I was completely unqualified, but that really just makes me look bad. Not that this one doesn't.
i remember interviewing for a sys admin/webmaster job on the Hill for an incoming congressperson. i was definitely qualified for the job as i had held a similar position for a while under a more tenured congressperson as well as other IT related jobs.
at the time, i was currently holding a job in the private sector doing IT work where my salary was at the high end of what the Hill position was looking to offer. so the interviewing office admin throws me the line they usually throw Hill newbies: "would you be willing to accept a reduced salary for the prestige of working on the Hill?"
i respectfully explained to the office admin that i had held a number of jobs on the Hill already (all the way back to being an intern and a page) and virtually grew up on the Hill as both of my parents and a few aunts have all held positions there for the better part of 20+ years. basically, if there were any stars in my eyes about the "glitz" working on the Hill, they fizzled out a long time ago.
so then the office admin hit me with this line: "you wouldn't accept a lesser salary for the honor of working for a [enter race here] [congressperson]?" essentially, making a social/moral play on my conscience as i, the office admin, and the congressperson are all the same race. so i should just abandon the salary i was asking for on these grounds alone? please.
after the interview i gave the line of questioning more thought. yes, i was qualified, but i called them back and requested to be withdrawn from consideration. there's no way i could work under an office admin who was asking me to 1) compromise for the office before even accepting the position and 2) asking me to compromise on the grounds of having the same ethnicity as the congressperson. who knows what other things i'd be asked to do "for the team"?
well, it's been a number of years since them. and after a quick search of the online "Green Book" to see how much they're actually paying their tech guy, lets just say i'm glad i declined.
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